ZIP 78224 vs ZIP 78221

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78224 (San Antonio, TX) and ZIP 78221 (San Antonio, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78224 has a population of 17,601 at 307 people per square mile, while ZIP 78221 has 35,990 at 457 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 78224 reports a median household income of $59,891 against $63,811 in ZIP 78221, with per-capita income of $23,837 vs $24,423. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.4% in 78224 and 12.2% in 78221. Poverty rate reads 17.8% vs 17.3%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 6.4% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $162,200 in 78224 versus $171,200 in 78221, with median rent of $1,227 and $1,228 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.7% vs 70.2%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.